Is there a way to turn off automatic note entry after selecting something with the mouse then playing a MIDI keyboard? I’d like to click a staff to change instruments and then play the keyboard without it entering notes while I’m playing.

For example, if I'm rehearsing singers with a track, I want to be able to select something in the score, hit "P" for playback, then play live to give them their parts without being in "note entry" mode.

Basically, regardless of whether something is selected in the score or not, I'd like to play the MIDI keyboard without Sibelius entering notes while I play. I'm always clicking then forgetting to hit escape. So Sibelius enters lots of notes that I don't want.

Thanks in advance, and sorry for the long winded question... I'm tired.

Can I disable MIDI input within Sibelius? I didn't see a way. What I'm thinking is I can use another program at the same time to handle my live playing and just use Sibelius for playback until I actually want to write something.

It seems silly for Sibelius to always be in "record" mode whenever something is selected. A simple preference would handle this, so the user could tell Sibelius to always be in that mode or use a button to switch it on or off.

>Is there a way to turn off automatic note entry after selecting something with>the mouse then playing a MIDI keyboard? I’d like to click a staff to change>instruments and then play the keyboard without it entering notes while I’m playing.>>>For example, if I'm rehearsing singers with a track, I want to be able to select>something in the score, hit "P" for playback, then play live to give them their>parts without being in "note entry" mode.>>Basically, regardless of whether something is selected in the score or not, I'd>like to play the MIDI keyboard without Sibelius entering notes while I play. I'm>always clicking then forgetting to hit escape. So Sibelius enters lots of notes>that I don't want.>>>Thanks in advance, and sorry for the long winded question... I'm tired.>>-- Brian

Hit ESC. Hit it twice, just to be sure!

After a bit this becomes a reflex action. Another good reflex actionto cultivate is hitting CTRL-S at frequent intervals :-)

Yesterday I was rehearsing with singers. I was using Sibelius to play the piano track from the middle of a song while I plunked out their melody where necessary. I had to hit escape before playing otherwise Sibelius would enter notes. The problem is that when I hit escape, it loses my selection, so when typing "P", playback starts from the beginning of the song. So my only solution was to hit "Ctrl-Z" many times to undo the notes Sibelius had created.

It seems very silly for Sibelius to always be in record mode whenever you click something.

Silly or not, that is how it has always been. As I mentioned, this has been complained about before.

You can deactivate your input device, if somewhat awkwardly, but unchecking in in File > Preferences >Input Devices. You will have to have the keyboard produce its own sounds to be able to hear it, so MIDI Thru should be off.

You can probably also turn off MIDI out for your keyboard, which may or may not be easier.

There is no shortcut for this.

I have heard of people installing a hardware switch to turn it off.

You can use Play > Replay (Ctrl+space) to play back from the last place you played, which might mitigate the no selection problem a bit.

Oh, you can use Ctrl-space to replay from your last playback point even if something isn't selected. This is a solution, but still it would be better to have a preference that turned auto record mode off.

Brian, there are very simple way to do what you want. First, click a staff you want to play by your MIDI keyboard, then press "ESC", or click on empty space. Then select a barline you want to start with, and hit "P". Now you can play your MIDI keyboard alongside Sibelius without entering notes.
My best regards. (Sibelius is most outstanding app)